Nyctophilia
by uzumeko
Summary: The underground was becoming overtly corrupt and dangerous. Botfights are only the beginning of what happened in the pits of San Fransokyo. Hiro knows how to play the game and he will be their King. He will bear the burden so no one else has to, even if it eats him from the inside out.
1. Murasaki

Hello! This chapter itself does not deal with M rated material, that will be happening over time. Right now just some choice curse words. Also, this story will incorporate all characters, but with Hiro and Tadashi as the main center piece. 

* * *

_"Here goes everything."_ Taking a deep breath he put everything he had, everything he hoped for, everything he wanted, into his words.

* * *

There was nothing more satisfying that a crisp night with open skies above his head. A chill that went beyond the exterior and moved deep into his bones, just cold enough to numb the ends of finger tips. Lamps illuminated the streets to cast long shadows from the bus stops and miscellaneous pieces of public property, seeming to not reach quite far enough, stopping short of the echoing alleys. Some lights flickered, once, twice, three times before extinguishing.

The darkness the night brought was a comforting blanket draped across his shoulders. It enveloped him in a calm that the light and daily bustle of day neglected to give. So while most people relished in the warmth of the sun and feared the night, Hiro embraced what the night had to offer and unzipped his hoodie to welcome it. Cars passed by from time to time, puttering by slowly as if afraid to make too much noise and awaken the beast that is the heart of San Fransokyo. Others, too fast in an attempt to get out of the "bad" part of town as soon as possible.

Bad. Dangerous. Sullied. Undesirable. All words used to describe a part of town that Hiro had found himself growing more and more comfortable with every time he snuck out at night to meander the empty streets and dark passageways. He wouldn't call it any of those words. Not bad, not dangerous, and definitely not sullied. Undesirable, maybe, but that depends on whom you ask. While some may scoff, Hiro saw opportunity. He saw the night of San Fransokyo as it was.

A game waiting to be won.

Like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and other lesser cities, the underground had the pawns, the knights, and everything in between leading up to the King. Just who was the King? Whoever played the game right. Of course, there are rules to the game.

Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Take opportunity when it meets you. Give respect when it is given to you. But above all else have loyalty. A King is nothing without loyalty, not only between the pawns and the King, but the King to his subjects as well. It was all part of the intricate yet delicate plan that Hiro had to topple the current King. Some of his plans where well thought out, planned dozens of steps ahead ready to acclimate to any move his opponents made. But most of the time it was instinctual. A brute force of strategy that he could call from within himself to trip the knight and take down the rook. He wasn't physically strong enough to take out dozens of gangs. He knew that and he was no fool. But he was smart. he knew how to manipulate and twist situations to his favor. He was playing the game, just not the way that most people would expect him to, and that's what gave him the advantage.

Overall San Fransokyo wasn't a dangerous place. Like any city there were suburbs with the white picket fence and perfectly manicured hedges, and an inner city community littered with trash and graffiti of their own style. Public parks, museums, Universities, all normal landmarks no different from any other. San Fransokyo had it's own life. A breath that could be felt throughout the city as if it were a living thing, giving birth to a new future of individuals bent on taking what was theirs. Comforting shelter and tough love, the city could grow interesting people. That didn't make it dangerous, only different. And Hiro liked different because he was different.

Hands outstretched, eyes closed, Hiro took a deep breath and filled his lungs with that chill he craved. _"Perfect,"_ he thought. _"Now to set the stage."_

He had snuck out of his Aunt Cass's place just ten minutes prior, tiptoeing across the wooden floor of the room he shared with his older brother Tadashi. In the many times he has snuck out, he was only caught a few times and played it up to getting a snack from downstairs, or excusing himself to watch some television to help him fall asleep. Tadashi would always give him a questioning look, never quite believing his younger brother, but never having any real evidence to say otherwise.

Hiro didn't like lying to his brother, or his Aunt Cass for that matter, but they wouldn't understand. He loved being out at night. And while sitting on the roof would alleviate some itching he felt, it wouldn't sedate him for long, and soon he would himself wandering the streets of San Fransokyo. Plus, he had another agenda.

While some nights he just wanted to feel that familiar chill on his skin, this time he wanted something more. He needed to do something more. Hitting the corner of 5th and Bridgeport, he walked across the street and then made a sharp right turn into an alley following the faint sounds of cheers and clashing steel. He skipped down the flight of metal stairs ducking his head under steaming pipes and neon lights. The further down the stairs he went, the louder the sounds echoed. The cheers, the guttural sound of power saws revving up, the forceful thuds of fist slamming on concrete out of frustration. It made Hiro's heart race, not in fear but in anticipation. He came to the outskirts of the mob of people gathered to watch the botfight and peeked his head around the corner to spy on his competition.

Yama again, boisterous and as cocky as ever. Though that mountain never foresaw himself loosing a match, Hiro was more than willing to challenge his winning streak. Actually, it was part of his plan. Kristi was there as well, holding up her own against Yama, though admittedly not well. Just when the battle looked to be swaying her way Yama snuffed out any chance of a comeback with a hidden saw blade straight through her bot. The crowd erupted with laughter and cheer while Kristi's jaw fell open in disbelief. She had been working on that bot for months! Analyzing every possible strength and weakness and created defenses accordingly! How could she lose? Kristi brought herself out of her frustration and quickly composed herself, moving forward to collect what was left of her dedicated work. Nothing but heaps of junk now.

Yama stood before the crowd, sweeping his arms across the horde of onlookers beating his chest once. "No one defeats Little Yama!" He grabbed the wad of cash from the plate greedily. Black eyes scan the other botfighters and gestured to them as they cowered back, some hiding their bots behind them. Whether out of shame or out of fear Hiro couldn't tell, but it was probably for the best. No point in getting their bots smashed to pieces. Yama was notoriously ruthless and unrelenting; he would take their bot apart with his bare hands if he had to. "Who is next! Who thinks they can stand up to Little Yama!"

 _"Coming right at you big guy."_ Slinging his backpack to his front, Hiro dug into the pouch and fished out a sleek purple mask. It didn't have any eyeholes, no opening for a mouth or a nose, just a smooth surface of purple with black outlines that contoured to his face. The mask worked like a one-way mirror. He could see them, but they couldn't see him. Eventually Hiro wanted to transform it into a full helmet but for now it would have to do. Just a little creation of his own, because he knew he had to keep his identity a secret.

Stepping around the corner, he walked towards the crowd with his back straight and shoulders squared. Even if he didn't have the confidence, he sure knew how to fake it. Posture, attitude, lack of hesitation. All little things he had picked up on the street over the years. No one would give a second thought to someone who would slink behind his or her own shadow.

Once on the outer rim of the crowd, people began to notice his presence and quickly stepped aside to let him through. A path opened up before him and the cheers soon died down to harsh whispered. Hiro was getting used to this sort of treatment over the past few months as he had been portraying himself as some mask botfighter and gained a reputation. He was undefeated and never spoke. Always silent from beginning to end never speaking a word to his opponent.

"Is that him? Murasaki?" A man to his left whispered.

"Sure is, though he's a lot smaller than what they said…come on he has to be a kid!" A woman answered.

"That guy is the infamous botfighter? You can't be serious." Another voice joined the group, audible over several other side conversations of his appearance.

"Dude, just wait. This is going to be fucking awesome. Kid or not, he knows how to kick some fucking ass."

"Pfft, I'll believe it when I see it. Fifty bucks Yama takes him out with one shot."

Hiro was glad the mask covered his face, as his smirk grew with every comment. He didn't see any of them as an insult, just as opportunities to prove them wrong. Keep stacking the pile of challenges; Hiro was going to topple them all.

"Who do we have here?" Yama finished stuffing the last of his cash into his pockets, only barely glancing at Hiro. "Oh, so it's you! The silent Murasaki! I've heard a lot about you, supposedly never lost a fight! Finally done pissing your pants and ready to experience how a botfight is really done?"

Staying true to the character he created, Hiro did not respond.

"Ha! Scare shitless? Too afraid to speak? Come back when you grow a pair kid." Yama scoffed at the purple masked child. Who was this kid coming to challenge him? Was this a joke? Yama didn't have time to entertain idiotic children. He was Yama the Mountain! King of Hayes District! A kid had no right to challenge him. "Who has the balls to test their luck against Little Yama!"

 _"Gah. I could just use Megabot right now to take him out…but that's wouldn't be fair. I need play this right."_ Hiro dug into his backpack and held out a roll of cash, roughly three hundred dollars, and deposited it into the middle of the arena with a flick of his wrist. _"Take the bait big guy."_

And sure enough at the glorious sound of money hitting the floor Yama turned around. His eyes moved from the cash on the floor to the purple masked man. Ten seconds ago he was a child, but anyone willing to essentially hand over that much to Yama was a man in his book. While he would not waste his time with such chumps, he would if they were willing to pay out.

"Heh, are you sure about this kid?" Yama motioned for the moderator to pick up the money, and then gave her his own weigh in. He was a generous man who was willing to give his opponents one last moment to think over their foolish decision. "I don't know what's under that mask of yours, but child or not you will meet the same ending as all who challenge Little Yama."

Hiro dipped his head silently in confirmation and proceeded to sit opposite of the larger man who was already cross legged on the floor, bot before him. Hiro mirrored his actions and placed Megabot into the arena. His backpack was slung off his shoulders and placed beside him. The unassuming bot, yellow happy face slapped on the head, stood straight for a moment before slipping down onto it's back. A couple of snickers were muffled behind the hands of spectators and Hiro rolled his eyes.

 _"Yeah yeah yeah, laugh it up."_ Hiro anticipated this type of reaction. Sure Megabot was small and Hiro did it no favors by giving it that ridiculous face, but that didn't mean it couldn't take down the King. Size was not equivalent to power. It only mattered how you use your strengths to your advantage.

"Last chance to back out _Mu-ra-sa-ki_." Yama spat each syllable with mocking distaste. "I'll even let you take back half of what you put in because I am just that generous of a King."

Hiro didn't move or speak; just kept his head forward and rubbed his fingers over the knobs of his remote. The rubber pads felt good under his ministrations, a comforting feeling of repetition. After a moment he turned towards the moderator and nodded.

She nodded back and did what she did best. Rile up the crowd and give a show! "Ladies and Gentlemen! Place your bets now! Tonight we have a special treat for you. The King of Hayes District, Yama the Mountain versus Murasaki! Two bots enter, one bot leaves."

She looked from Hiro to Yama and waited a moment to let the noise settle. Feeling the atmosphere hit its peak anticipation, she raised her arm high into the air. "Ready. Set. Fight!"

Hiro saw the battle ending in several different ways. He could take his sweet time and toy with Yama before delivering the final blow. Land a hit, let Yama retaliate, land another hit, and then cycle on towards his victory. Or he could pretend to be on the loosing end before pulling out some amazing last minute save to gain him the win. Everyone loves the underdog after all. Or he could lose. It was always an option, albeit not one that would be in his benefit, but Hiro always had the opposite of what he wanted as an option. It was never a bad thing to have too many choices. The game could change quickly, and he needed to react accordingly. Sometimes that could mean taking a loss and calling it a day, biding his time until the next opportunity comes. In this instance, though, loosing would not gain him anything in the end. Winning was everything tonight. And rather than drag out a game that was already in Hiro's hands, he decided to end it as quickly as possible.

Jerking the remote forward, Megabots face panel flipped to reveal a mischievous red smile. Hiro commanded Megabot to hit straight on against Little Yama. Darting side to side, slipping under the other, Megabot easily dodged any attack aimed at him. While his opponent had size and strength, he had speed and flexibility. A combination, when done correctly, could easily overwhelm anyone three times their size.

Megabot detached into three separate pieces and began its assault of terrorizing Little Yama. First the left leg was detached and tossed to the side and before the handler could react, Hiro moved Megabot to the arms and used Little Yama's own sharp claws against itself, piercing through the tough outer shell. And last but not least, Megabot slide up to the head and promptly supplied enough pressure to remove it with a sharp _pop!_

And just like that, Little Yama was flopping into its back in defeat all in less than thirty seconds.

Hiro wanted the battle to be quick…but maybe that was a little too quick. Either way the deed was done and even though Hiro had come for another reason, being several hundred dollars richer wasn't a negative in his book.

"And the winner is…Murasaki!" The moderator rang. She walked over to Hiro and held open the plate of cash for him to take, a small smile on her face. It wasn't every day someone came along to put Yama in his place. Behind her she could hear others paying up their bets as well. Seems that a couple of fools were brave enough to bet against King Yama the Mountain. _"Perhaps a King no more…"_

Hiro grabbed the cash and stuffed it into his cargo pants. He looked at the larger man, who was still in shock over the loss of Little Yama. Metal and mechanical pieces were distributed across the arena with mangled bot the center of such a masterpiece. Interestingly enough, he didn't look like he was going to retaliate as Hiro feared. _"Good looks like I won't have to bring_ them _out."_

As if on cue, Yama bellowed out in rage. "No one defeats Little Yama like that! No one disgraces me, the King! You cheated!"

Hiro shook his head in answer, and then maybe none-too-smartly gave Yama a thumb down. Slightly ill advised but felt so good.

"W-what! You little shit!" Yama charged forward and grabbed Hiro by the front of his shirt, hoisting him up to his level. "Who do you think you are? Coming in here cheating me out of my money!" His hands grabbed for Hiro's mask, fingers leaving grease and sweat marks on the otherwise flawless surface. "Stop hiding behind that mask and show yourself!"

 _"Looks like I do get to use them. Test subject: Yama."_ Hiro thought happily. It wasn't that he wanted to embarrass Yama further, or bring him any harm. He just one, didn't want to get his own ass kicked, and two, wanted to test out his new piece of technology. And if he was being honest with himself, maybe he did _kinda-sorta-really-yes_ did want to embarrass Yama just a tad bit more.

Just as Yama was able to yank the mask off, the larger man's body was roughly pulled to the ground, his chin hitting the concrete hard enough to cause his teeth to bite into his lips and draw some blood. He went down with a hard _"Oof!"_ Once released from Yama's grasp, Hiro promptly landed on his feet and straightened out his shirt.

The larger man wriggled on the floor, hands free to reach out to try and get ahold of anything to gain his footing. "W-what is this! Why can't I move my feet!"

Stomach on the ground, he looked over his shoulder. Little black pieces of cylindrical metal covered his feet and ankles up to his knees. They felt cool and smooth over his pants, but alive. The moved ever so slightly, tightening over his legs to the point where it was becoming painful, before stopping and loosening up, as if on second thought. But that's ridiculous, they weren't alive! They didn't think! It was all just a hoax. "What is this Murasaki? What kind of cheap trick is this? Fight me!"

Hiro ignored the man struggling on the floor, instead turning his attention to the crowd. No one said a word. Some looked terrified of him. Others looked incredibly entertained at the sight of Yama, pinned to the ground by his microbots. Hiro mentally shrugged, it didn't matter what they thought, scared or not, just as long as they listened to what he had to say.

 _"Here goes everything."_ Taking a deep breath he put everything he had, everything he hoped for, everything he wanted, into his words.

"San Fransokyo is a large town, and it's only continuing to grow." His voice sounded deeper, rougher, as if he were someone with a lifetime of experience and knowledge. Someone who had the confidence to back the words that he spoke. He chuckled to himself. If he didn't modify his voice with the mask, they would be listening to a shaking teenager instead. "There are countless botfights happening. Men like Yama see themselves as elitist Kings, incapable of falling. I've proven that to be wrong. Whether you know it or not, the different districts are beginning to overrun one another. What once was a balance of push and pull is becoming pure domination, and innocent people are getting caught in the crosshairs."

He let that sink in for a moment. It was common knowledge that each of the King of the districts wanted to expand their rule. More districts meant more botfight arenas, which equaled more money, more money equaled more power. It was a horrible cycle that Hiro was determined to put an end to. He took a moment to observe everyone, but they were probably too dumbfounded at the fact that he was finally speaking. Months he has been his alter ego, Murasaki, never once speaking a word. He let his bots do the talking. In the beginning everyone simply underestimated him, wrote him off as some punk kid who thought himself too high and mighty to show his face. But with each passing fight, and as his name began to spread, the fact that he didn't speak became as iconic as his mask. He needed to get the focus off himself and back to the point.

"People are going missing, violence is spreading. The police are starting to notice more. There's no way to stop it, it's inevitable. Whether you acknowledge it or not, it's happening right on our doorsteps. Sooner or later, someone from another district is going to come and take everything for themselves."

Hiro knew he didn't have to mention what everything entailed, anyone who has been to a botfight knows what is really at stake. The power for land, to be able to control how botfights are run, to gain a part of the profit...that was just chump change. The real reason the Kings existed was to control the flow of drugs in and out of the districts, to control their portion of the blackmarket, human trafficking, and more. The underground was a dirty and seedy place, and everyone wanted to win.

"The only thing we can do is make sure the right person is on top."

He stopped and turned his body to another side of the crowd. "You have a choice. You can either follow him," Hiro nodded to Yama on the floor, still struggling to free himself. "Or stand with me."

Hiro was glad for the mask as it hid how truly nervous he was. He didn't give speeches to groups of people often. _Ever_. But he knew if he was going to get rid of the violence and gangs that were appearing in San Fransokyo, he had to be the one at the top. It's his burden to bear and he knows he'll need support along the way. He won't let it go to his head; he's a Hamada. They were levelheaded thinkers, capable of finding solutions to any situation, analyzing every possible option to achieve the intended goal. Hiro knew what he was doing. He _had_ to do this.

Feeling that he had left his mark, Hiro turned back to Yama and had his microbots release him. They crawled towards Hiro, purposely going over the rest of Yama's body to aggravate the man before fitting neatly back into their bag. Hiro turned back to the crowd and they parted for him, no one speaking a word. And with that, he left.

* * *

R&R. Looking forward to feedback. I will update as often as real life allows me (about once a week).


	2. We Move Lightly

Just a heads up that this story will get darker as it continues on. I hope to get some feedback, please feel free to let me know about what you like, dislike, would like to see happen, etc. Doesn't mean I'll do it but feedback is always nice!

We Move Lightly by Dustin O'Halloran

* * *

 _Stop. Relax. Stop struggling. Just let go._

* * *

"Rise and shine little bro!" Tadashi used his big toe to poke his little brother awake. He balanced on his right foot while using his left to gently prod Hiro to finally get out of bed.

"Nnnnghh." The mound of blankets groaned with frustration. "Go away."

"No can do, it's one in the afternoon! Time to get your lazy butt out of bed and help out Aunt Cass." Tadashi moved his big toe closer to what he believed was Hiro's head. The younger Hamada was _somewhere_ beneath all those blankets, even though he tried his best to pretend he wasn't there. "Poetry beat is tonight and we have to help her prep."

"Five more minutes…" Hiro pulled the blankets tighter around his body, staying under the protective cocoon he created. After his rendezvous with the botfight, he didn't get home until four in the morning and this was _not_ the way he wanted to wake up. Tadashi's feet in his face? He loved his brother but no thank you.

"But we have to marinade the chicken, wash the vegetables, and get started on the dumplings. And Aunt Cass needs help from her genius, strapping, young nephew." His toes continued to annoy Hiro.

All he wanted to do was sleep! Just a couple more minutes…hours. So what if he had gotten nine hours of sleep, he was a growing teenager; least he become a sloth throughout the day. He wanted to sleep and Tadashi was having none of it. When the foot touched the top of his head, Hiro decided to take his brother down a peg and launched his hands out from under the covers and grabbed onto Tadashi's foot. Twisting his body in the opposite direction, he pulled away his brother's balance. Tadashi struggled to hop repetitively on his other foot to keep from toppling over.

"Ah! Hiro let go!" Tadashi tried to pull his foot free, but small little hands clamped on tightly.

"Not until you promise to let me stay under my fortress of blankets." Hiro frowned from under his messy mop of hair.

"Nope."

"Then I guess you have to go the rest of your life without this foot."

"But I like that foot."

"I'm sure it's a great foot."

"Hiro."

"Tadashi."

Knowing that his brother could be beyond stubborn when he wanted to, Tadashi gave up trying to free himself and did the only thing he saw fit; falling down across Hiro.

"Gah! Get off me!" Hiro struggled to push Tadashi off, but he wouldn't budge. "God you're heavy. I can't breath I think I'm going to die, move your fat butt!"

Tadashi did his best to push all his weight down, earning a grunt from below him. "15-year-old found dead in his pajamas. Cause of death: Crushed by Old Brother. None of that is flattering for either of us, so how about you do us both a favor and get out of bed."

"Fine, I will I will! Just. Get. Off. Me."

Tadashi laughed deep in his chest and tugged his foot a few times. Once Hiro let go, the other man rolled off the bed and dragged the blanket off with him. "Your shield is gone! Get dressed and come down stairs, Aunt Cass has lunch waiting for you. If you take too long I'll give it to Mochi."

"Meehhhh." Hiro groaned and turned to bury his face into his pillow.

"See you downstairs." Just before leaving the room, Tadashi turned back to face Hiro. "Sleeping in this late. It's almost as if you were out all last night."

Before Hiro could reply Tadashi's footsteps were already thundering down the stairs.

Did Tadashi know? Did Hiro slip up when he came home last night? He was sure to take his shoes off at the door and avoid all the creaking floorboards. He had done it dozens of times before, there was no way Tadashi would wake up on his return home. There were a few times that Tadashi would roll over or grunt just as Hiro re-entered their shared bedroom, but that could mean anything. People readjusted in their sleep all the time. Tadashi didn't know, there was no way. He had been beyond his normal capacity of careful. It was just a lucky guess, that's all.

Rather than dwell on the possibility that his brother knew about his double night life, his stomach had other ideas. It didn't matter that it was past noon, this was the first meal of the day and that meant breakfast. And breakfast meant pancakes, bacon, harsh browns...salad.

That is _not_ what breakfast was supposed to be, yet sure enough that is what greeted Hiro by the time he got down to the cafe floor. Tadashi had even hand delivered it to him, a smirk plastered on his face as he lowered the too green _breakfast_. "I tried to give it to Mochi, but he didn't want it. Don't think it agreed with his tastes."

"I can't imagine why...Aunt Cass, is there anything else I can have?" Tadashi scowled at his food. How dare this green pile of vegetables try to pass off as the sacred morning breakfast.

"Sorry honey, most of the stock is going towards tonight. Beat Poetry night has been _huge_ the last few weeks, I need to save up for the rush." Aunt Cass poked her head from around the counter. She waved a sticky ladle, "Now hurry up and eat, I need you and Tadashi to start peeling and washing. Then maybe I'll think about cooking you something since you finally rolled out of bed."

"Okay. And for one I don't roll out of bed, I gracefully descend." Hiro hesitantly picked up a fork and started pushing lettuce around, hoping against hope that something else was hidden underneath. The more he pushed it around, the less appetizing it became, and the hungrier he got. Twisting his head, he could see Aunt Cass was busy in the kitchen and Tadashi was tending to a customer by the window. While they were distracted he quickly produced a bag of gummy bears from his pocket and sprinkled them across as toppings.

"Gummy bear salad, now _this_ I can eat!" Skewering a few of the red ones, his favorite, and a leaf of lettuce, he brought the fork to his mouth and...

Then it was gone. Whisked away from his hands and table, replaced with a half eaten chicken sandwich with a side of untouched fries. Hiro gave a short laugh. Never understood why Tadashi avoided the fries; greasy and salty were a perfect combination.

"If you want it warmed up let me know and I'll toss it in the microwave for you." Tadashi placed a hand on his little brother's head. "And you're welcome."

"Naw this should be good. Thanks man." Hiro happily took a bite into the sandwich, then grimaced. "Ew...Tadashi germs. I think I would have been safer with the salad."

Tadashi laughed and ruffled his hair. "Not with all that sugar you tried to pass off as croutons." He disappeared into the kitchen to help their Aunt, carrying a plate of dirty dishes along the way. Hiro ate his breakfast/lunch and hurried to help prepare for the evening. As much as he might complain he enjoyed helping Aunt Cass around the cafe. They may not show their appreciation enough, but Tadashi and Hiro loved her like she their mother and would do anything in their power to help her.

The early drowsiness he had felt went away as he worked at washing the tomatoes, celery, and lettuce, then peeling the potatoes and carrots. It didn't even feel like he had crawled under his sheets just an hour before dawn. After the vegetables were done, he and Tadashi began kneading the dough which somehow resulted in the two of them throwing flour in each other's faces. Hiro might have gotten a little competitive, because they lost a batch when it ended up square on Tadashi's face, a perfect imprint of his face flopping onto the kitchen floor. Hiro snickered when Tadashi picked dough out of his nose and hair.

These were moments that Hiro loved. When Tadashi and him were messing around with each other, whether it be throwing what would be dinner at his face or Tadashi playfully retaliating by smearing _anko_ across his face. Of course they had fun creating and testing their robotics projects together, but moments where they were just acting like brothers mean the world to Hiro. It reminded him of what he was fighting for.

"What are you two knuckleheads doing?" Aunt Cass came around the corner holding a bowl of _panko_ to see her two nephews covered in dough and little red beans. They looked absolutely ridiculous and guilty. Both wore a sheepish smile, Tadashi blowing his bangs away from his eyes with upturned lips. A little tuff of flour flew from his hair for added effect. "Ahhh what am I going to do with you guys?"

"Hmmmm love us unconditionally?"

"And not get mad at us for throwing tonights dinner around?"

"That Hiro started."

"What?!" Hiro balled up some more dough and launched it at Tadashi. The small ball passed over a ducking Tadashi and hit square into Aunt Cass's forehead.

"Ahhh...umm..." Hiro instinctively inched behind Tadashi and willed himself to shrink out of sight. The next thing he knew _panko_ was flying around the kitchen as his aunt held an empty bowl in hand, all of it's contents thrown into the air over the two brothers. She tried to stifle her laugh behind her hands, but failed miserably when Tadashi spit some dried flakes out of his mouth. Her muffled giggles soon became snorting laughter. Tadashi joined in, doubling over and holding onto his stomach. While they were laughing at the chaotic kitchen situation, Hiro couldn't help but laugh at them.

 _This_ is what he was fighting for. This is what he had to protect.

* * *

Each time Hiro turned on the news it seemed to be getting bleaker and bleaker. It caused the growing anxiety in him to burst from his chest like fireworks. He could end all of this now! What was he doing sitting on the couch watching these acts of dehumanization go across his screen when he could actually do something about it. He mentally chastised himself for being lazy. This is not who he told himself he would become. He was going to be more than just some kid building robots.

" _Use that big brain of yours!"_ Tadashi would tell him.

Hiro used to get annoyed whenever Tadashi told him that. What did he think he was doing? Just letting his brain chill in his skull without putting any effort through? Having a cup of tea while snacking on an abnormal amount of gummy bears? Yes and no.

But Hiro couldn't get mad, his older brother was right. He wasn't pushing his boundaries, he wasn't living up to his potential, he wasn't trying to be _more_.

That is, he wasn't until a few months ago. Now he has a plan and was doing everything in his power to live up to his full potential.

Hiro clicked off the television and fell gracefully off couch, taking two steps at a time up the stairs to his room. Last night he was able to take out Yama and gain control of the Hayes district, tonight he was headed to the Port of San Fransokyo to battle Isla. And to do that he needed to put the finishing touches on his helmet prototype.

He darted to the side of his bed and fished his backpack from underneath. He had a tendency to store a lot of odd items there but eventually he found it. Shoving his arms through his jacket he threw the backpack over his shoulder and made for a quick exit.

"Going somewhere?" The overprotective voice of his brother came from behind him. Crud, he hadn't even noticed Tadashi sitting on his bed across the room.

"Uhhhh yea. Just going down to the garage...going to work on a small project." Hiro said.

It wasn't entirely a lie, he was going to go make a few changes to his helmet. Leaving out the fact that he was going to sneak off three miles to have a botfight against a King for dominance of a major drug port wasn't a lie, he just neglected to tell him. Tadashi didn't ask so he didn't tell.

"What are you working on?" Tadashi looked over the edge of his medical procedural textbook.

"I want to make a few modifications to a helmet I'm creating. I need to install a headset and upgrade the sensors to react better at night. You know, make it a little safer to take the scooter out at night." Hiro made a mental note to ask Tadashi why he was reading a medical book. Last he checked Tadashi was working on a new robot, not training to be a nurse.

"You have plans to take the scooter out at night?" He raised an eyebrow, just _waiting_ for Hiro to slip up. He knew his brother was up to something, but wouldn't outright confront him about it. Tadashi learned from experience that he couldn't prevent Hiro from doing something, no matter how stupid and idiotic it was. But if he would learn more about _what_ it was Hiro was up to then maybe he could still watch over his little brother.

"Well not exactly _plans_ but you can never be too careful, you know? What if there is an emergency because your giant ears caused you to loose your balance and fall down the stairs? Someone would have to take you to the hospital."

"I'm sure Aunt Cass could take me in my deplorable state." Tadashi countered.

"Nope. She was at the bottom of the stairs, you mowed her down with your fat butt." Hiro sighed and shook his head. "Tragedy really."

Tadashi brought the book to his chest in feigned compassion. "Truly the darkest of days."

"And to make sure I get you and Aunt Cass to the hospital in time, I will need a helmet that can help me navigate the busy streets at night. So, you see, it is of the highest priority that I go make these updates before you inevitably take out two-thirds of the Hamada clan."

"If only I wasn't such a danger to myself and apparently others. So sad." Tadashi put the book back to his face and continued reading, leafing through the pages to find where he left off.

"Incredibly. I'll probably sleep down in the garage so don't wait up!" Hiro closed the door behind him and bounced down the stairs to the garage, but not before stopping in the kitchen to grab a juice box. Future King or not he needed to stay hydrated.

In the garage he made the few modifications to his helmet and placed it over his head. It fit snuggly and the inner padding kept his head from feeling like his brain would rattle around on the inside if he actually took a hit. He had sensors all across the brow which also transmitted his vitals to the HUD (heads up display). Hiro didn't know what he was in for but it never hurt to be prepared. The prototype did not have the neurotransmitter set up to communicate with his microbots but he did not anticipate needing them tonight. He could add them on during the next update.

By the time he was completely done, it was well into the night that Hiro could sneak out without waking anyone. Putting on his new outfit, which consisted with dark blue jeans and a black zip-up jacket, heavier than his earlier hoodie, he grabbed his backpack and put on his modified helmet.

"Display up." The screen whizzed to life by scanning his surroundings and synchronizing with it's wearer. Once the recalibration was complete Hiro took to the streets and started the three mile journey to the Port of San Fransokyo. If his intel was correct, Isla was hosting a botfight by the docks of pier five.

Hiro kept off the main streets and stuck as close to the cover of shadows as he could. The less of an appearance he made the better, there was no reason to alert possible botfighters that Murasaki was hanging around close by. He needed to keep his personal life separated from the one he was creating at night.

* * *

Isla was a tall, thin woman with hair as dark as the ocean she claimed to own. Two thin strips of silver hair stemmed from behind her ears to match her pale skin. She was beautiful, Hiro couldn't deny that, but that in no way made her any less of a threat. There was something offputting about her...something that didn't sit right with Hiro. She had a reputable short temper, easily tossing her own comrades over the side of the pier when they had the misfortune of pissing her. She ruled with a closed, iron fist. Like many of the other Kings, botfighting was only the surface view. The tip of the iceberg. While holding the Port of San Fransokyo as her domain, she controlled how the addictive hardcore drugs were brought into the city.

Marijuana was small game for her, though a consistent seller, it brought in a lesser profit. Cocaine, heroin, acid, and with ecstasy as her bread and butter, she could keep her clients hooked and wanting more. Cops knew she had such influence but would turn a blind eye for the right price. Rules to the game were important: having loyalty. Loyalty could be earned but it could also be bought. A corrupt law system...high on his to-do list of things Hiro was going to change when he became King.

Hiro had arrived to the pier moments earlier, checking out the surrounding area momentarily before settling on watching from behind the large metal crates that lines the docks. Shipments were being brought up through the abandoned pier, hoisted by larger men off the ships. Boxes upon boxes were unloaded and delivered to one of the metal cargo holders for further transportation. Hiro knew this was the drop off point for initial cargo, but he wasn't sure where they were sent off to. Other parts of San Fransokyo? Further out of the county? The state? The country? There was no way of knowing until he gathered more information.

Isla stood between the pier and the botfight on the dock, keeping her eyes on the movement of both parties. Her face would be illuminated from the shadows with each drag on her cigarette, a puff of smoke following after. Isla's eyes hardened on the twisted metal fight and waved at the larger men to continue loading up the container, to which they grunted in reply. Faithful, loyal, unquestioning servants. She crushed the cigarette on the bottom of her heel and strode over to the commotion. The night was getting colder thanks to the wind blowing from the bay, so she pulled her blue leather jacket tighter around her shoulders before zipping up. Hiro took the opportunity to shift positions and assimilated himself into the crowd but keeping to the edges, doing his best to do an impression of a wall flower. He wanted to be able to observe for a bit before going straight after Isla, but of course she was quick to the draw.

"You know Murasaki, you could have just come straight to me, no need pretend you're here for any other reason." Isla said from beside him. They both stood on the outskirts of the crowd watching the two bots whirl around the arena slowly taking each other apart, piece by piece. Hiro was impressed, he had never seen two bots continue to stand and fight with so much of their bodies and arsenal rendered useless and scattered. He was more impressed by Isla's ability to find him, but he guessed that a man in a mask really wasn't too inconspicuous to begin with.

He remained silent and kept his eyes forward on the match.

"Give up the act. Word spreads quickly around here, you aren't really the silent type anyways. Deep down I bet you're a smart ass always on the edge wanting to get the last word in." Isla shifted her weight and pulled another cigarette from the inside of her leather jacket. A quick flick of a match and she was inhaling the sweet flavor of smoke and nicotine. "Are you here to challenge me, like you did Yama?"

"And when I win you leave this district under my rule." Hiro's rougher voice came through the mask. He took a few deep breathes, the HUD was showing signs of an elevated heart rate and he needed to calm himself down. He didn't feel nervous but Isla rubbed him the wrong way; there was something off about her and it set him on edge.

"Confident fucker aren't you? What do I get if I win?" She let out a stream of smoke.

"You can have Hayes District."

"Hmph." Leaving the cigarette in her mouth she shoved both hands into her pockets. "Follow me."

She turned to leave and Hiro follow. He focused on controlling his breathing so his exterior did not reflect what he was feeling on the inside. Breath in breath out. In through the nose out through the mouth. He needed to be the three C's – calm, cool, and collected. He couldn't put his finger on it but something was telling him to be wary of Isla.

They walked away from the botfight, of which looked to finally be coming to an end. At this point in the battle it came down to the concentration of the creator, one slip up and their opponent would finish the battle. Once they had walked over to pier four a large cheer emanated from the crowd and Hiro knew a victor had been born.

"We'll have one battle no time limit." Isla snapped her fingers and two men came up beside her, one with a large metallic sphere and the other a remote. The first man placed the sphere on the ground and the other handed the remote to Isla's waiting hand. She shrugged her leather jacket off onto the wooden floor leaving herself in a simple white tank top. Cold or not she wouldn't battle with restriction. "The stakes are the Port of San Fransokyo and Hayes District. Do you concede?"

"I do." Hiro took Megabot out from his backpack and had him opposite of what he assumed to be Isla's bot. Many different bots have crossed paths with him and he learned to never underestimate based on appearance, especially since his own bot looked to be nothing more than an intricate paper weight.

"Whenever you're ready, Isla. Take one last look because by the end, all of this will be mine."

"Hmph, we'll see about that. Your cockiness is going to put you in the ground if you're not careful." Isla laughed and flicked her bangs away from her face. "Fight!"

Hiro wasted no time and sent Megabot on a forward assault. Isla's spherical bot immediately produced two bladed arms and rolled forward to meet him. There was no head or legs as far as Hiro could tell, just a sphere with gyro-stabilized blades. Less joins meant less weaknesses but that wouldn't deter him. Hiro was quick to analyze situations and he would just have to find the perfect opening. Megabot danced around Isla's bot, avoiding deadly side-swipes and sharp turns that attempted to catch him off guard. Hiro landed some blows on the outer shell of the bot, leaving nothing more than scuff marks.

"Going to have to do more than that!" Isla's bot came forward with such speed that Hiro nearly missed a blade aimed at Megabot's core. He wasn't able to determine the material of the blades yet, so he had no idea if Megabot would be able to withstand it. He used metals that were light and durable for his bot but that didn't rule out the possibility that there was something capable of tearing Megabot to pieces.

For several minutes they cirlced around each other, Megabot landing some hits and dodging Isla's assaults but not causing any critical effect. He needed to find a weakness, anything that could give him the upper hand! But it seemed impenetrable...the tough outer shell, the speed, the ability to turn on a dime, Isla's bot was difficult to handle. Hiro ran dozens of possibilities in his mind and throwing out ideas that had less than favorable outcomes. Eventually he narrowed it down to the best possible choice –get rid of the main threat; the armed blades needed to go.

"Come on Isla, let's see how sharp those blades _really_ are. I bet they couldn't even cut through plywood, let alone my superior bot!" Hiro egged her on.

"Ha! I knew you were a smart ass." Isla sent her bot rushing forward. "But I'll gladly end this you little shit."

As the sphere rolled forward, sharp arms glinting under the pier lights, Megabot stayed completely still. He was biding his time for the last possible moment. Just as the blades came mere centimeters away from Megabot's center, Hiro detached the three segments of his bot and clasped itself around the joint connected to the main body. And just as he had done to Yama's bot, he detached the bladed arm and discarded it.

With that opening, another segment dove inside her bot and rotated fiercely, scrambling up the connective wiring, CPU, and RAM, collectively destroying any information downloaded into the database. Her bot was now a useless husk of what was once a contender in the botfighting world.

A giant grin spread across his face underneath the helmet. Hiro had done it, he had defeated Isla and gained control of the Port of San Fransokyo! Now he could stop the coast from accepting the highly addictive and destructive drugs, keeping the city just a little bit safer. It felt good, beyond great, to finally be able to say that he was doing something to help people. Tadashi would be proud.

"Grab him."

" _Wait what?"_

The same two men that had brought Isla her bot roughly grabbed his arms and held tight when Hiro struggled against them. Every motion of resistance he made caused them to bend his arms backwards into an uncomfortable position. His shoulders started to scream in protest. The man on his right dug his nails into Hiro's forearm just for the fun of it. They kicked his legs out from under him and brought him to his knees, head roughly bent down.

"You lost Isla, fair and square. Are you going to back out of our deal?" Hiro pulled against the men.

"Of course I am. You think I would actually willingly hand over this gold mine over a botfight? For fuck's sake, you must have some idealistic views on the world to think that I would fucking roll over for you just because your bot beat mine." She came closer to him, bending down to his level and putting a hand on his helmet. "This is more than just bot fighting kid. Do you know how many drugs come in through this port on my watch? How many pounds of cocaine are shipped here and distributed past the San Fransokyo city limits? People in New York are getting high because of me! This is an empire, _my_ fucking empire! I'm not going to hand it over because of some childish bet, you little shit. " She titled his head back and wrapped her slim hands around his throat, tightening and digging her nails into his skin.

Immediately his HUD showed signs of distress. Rising heart rate and an increase in blood pressure, alerting to continued stress against his shoulder blades as they were pulled into obscure angles. Hiro tired to get out of their grasp, but between the pain and having Isla so dangerously close to his face it was hard enough concentrating on making sure air was able to make it to his lungs.

"Get rid of him. Shoot him in the head or toss him over the pier for all I care, just get him out of my face." Isla shoved his head back harshly and when she stood her foot connected with his stomach. Hiro doubled over as much as he could from his position and let out a gasp of air.

" _Shit shit shit shit shit this is bad."_ Hiro looked at his HUD and didn't even want to look at his vitals, he knew they were going haywire. He had to think his way out of this. _"Think think think think come on Hiro THINK."_

Hiro was a great thinker, phenomenal even. Able to get himself out of nearly any situation with that big brain of his.

" _Shoot him in the head..."_

But it's a little hard to think when being threatened of having a bullet go through that big brain.

The two men dragged him across the pier, Hiro's feet catching on some of the loose wooden panels. They took him behind the metal cargo crates, away from any curious eyes until they reached another dock out of ear shot from the crowd of a new botfight.

"Come on guys, let's talk about this. I'm sure you don't want to kill me just as much as I don't want you to kill me. This is a lose-lose situation for all of us!" Hiro tried to reason with them, a few nervous chuckles making its way into conversation. "I think we all need to sit down and relax, let's not do anything we're going to regret later, what do you say? It would be a loss less effort for you to just let me go."

If Hiro didn't know any better he would say that these men were bots themselves. They didn't bat an eyelash or give any reason for him to believe that they were even listening to him. Perhaps it came with the personality of men who had no guilt with killing fifteen year olds.

He was thrown onto the wooden floor and he could feel some of the rusted nails dig into his forearms and knees as he scrambled to sit up. They were definitely larger than Hiro. Like blocks of stonewall, more than twice his width and height. Taking them down physically wasn't an option.

Ugly, as Hiro had affectionately named him, brought his foot down on Hiro's shin and dug his foot into the forming bruise. He didn't break it, thankfully, but Hiro was going to definitely feel it in the morning.

If he made it to the morning.

Wiggles, the other man that Hiro had dubbed for a lack of any real name, watched happily to the side as Ugly dealt out his own form of punishable entertainment. A hit to the shin, another hit to the stomach, a swift kick to the lower back and then he stomped heavily upon Hiro's head, thankfully protected by the helmet. The boy was as good as dead anyways, there wasn't any reason he couldn't enjoy himself a bit right? Ugly continued his assault until he felt that Hiro had enough. And Hiro would have to agree. He had had enough, his body ached and pain erupted from several locations on his body. He's been hurt before from the occasional household accident but this was a new form of pain. This was _deliberate_ pain. This was purposely dealt by someone specifically to make Hiro suffer.

" _Have to...have to think my way out of this one."_ Hiro told himself as he slowly, painfully, brought himself up to a standing position. His body ached in ways that he never thought they could before. He could feel the bruises forming and could taste a little blood in his mouth from when he bit down on his inner cheek too hard. Thankfully none of the blood seemed to come from an internal bleeding and the HUD wasn't alerting for anything life threatening, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

And for a moment Hiro desperately, _desperately_ wished he had installed the microbot neurotransmitter into his helmet.

"Turn around." Ugly ordered. Hiro watched as a gun was raised to his face. It was now or never.

"Come on are you guys sure you want to do this? I mean am I really that much of a threat to waste your bullets on?" Hiro tried to keep as cool of a demeanor as possible.

"Doesn't matter, Isla's orders." Wiggles stated with a straight face.

"So if she told you to jump off a bridge would you do it?"

"We're not the one jumping," Ugly cocked back the gun. "You are."

Hiro had no other choice. Either take a bullet to the head and _hope_ his helmet could withdstand it, or take a chance on the crushing waves under the pier.

 _Bang!_ _Bang!_

Hiro turned to throw himself off the pier and felt two bullets hit the edges of his helmet. Whether they had broken the shell or grazed him he didn't know. At the very least, in that split second, he knew his was still moving so that meant his brain was still intact. He was alive, for the moment.

As Hiro hurled himself off the edge of the pier, body cursing him and head ringing, he thought of a few things.

Was he going to die? He could already start to feel himself slip away from consciousness from the strain and once he hit the water there was no way he would be able to fit the waves and stay awake at the same time. He would either drown or be crushed against the pillars supporting the pier. His Aunt Cass had always warned the two brothers to never swim too close to a docks and piers. The waters were violent and unpredictable, capable of overpowering even the strongest of swimmers, and Hiro was far from a strong swimmer.

Was this worth it? He thought he could change the world, or at least San Fransokyo. Make it a better place and protect those that he loved the only way he knew how. He defeated Isla but he should have known better. People like her, those that live and breath the underground, wouldn't stick to honor. Sure she lost, but that was just a trivial game for her. Nothing more. He was an insect buzzing around too close to her property. Even though he had stung her she could still crush him.

What would Tadashi say? After checking to make sure he was okay (which was certainly _not_ okay) his older brother would probably begin smacking him on the arms and shoulders, calling him a knucklehead and enunciating each syllable with a slap. Hiro knew that no matter what he did his brother would always be there. He would catch him when he fell, he would keep away any danger that threatened the younger Hamada. He had been doing it since they were both very young. Too young, Hiro thought, Tadashi was too young to have such a burden placed on him.

And that's all Hiro had been to him. A burden that he was forced to take care of because he was his little brother.

" _Well I guess he won't have to worry about that anymore."_ Hiro fell into the ocean with a splash. He felt beyond tired, more tired than he had ever felt in his life. His body ached and his muscled yelled in retaliation as he tried to bring himself to a sense of buoyancy again.

 _Air. He needed Air._

As he sank further and further towards the bottom of the ocean he stared back up towards the surface. The moon was large and full, so bright that the light penetrated the first few layers of ocean water and Hiro could make our pieces of his own body in the dark depths. The water ebbed and flowed, building up power and strength before throwing him closer to the pillars. Well if he wasn't going to pass out and drown, he would surely be crushed now.

" _Washed up at fifteen...so sad."_ Tadashi's voice rang in his head. Little did he know what the terms _washed up_ would mean. Washed up in a bloodied battered mix of skin and bones on the shore. Tadashi would surely go on a ranting spree and calling him a few other choice words. Thankfully he wouldn't be there to listen because he would be...

Hiro felt the outer edges of his vision start to get darker. He tried struggling against the current, kicking with his feet and paddling with his hands to try and keep himself above the surface but he was just _so tired_. He couldn't get enough air into his lungs to keep up with the demand of his body to survive. It was more effort than he could handle and it seemed like a more appealing option to just _stop_.

 _Stop. Relax. Stop struggling. Just let go._

And so he did just that. Hiro stopped kicking his feet with all his might and stopped trying to propel himself towards the surface. It was too much effort, too much energy put into trying to survive. Hiro was tired. He couldn't try. He didn't want to try. He let the ocean waves take him where they would.

Hiro took a moment to admire the moon as its rippled in view, the stars beside it twinkling from the atmosphere and from the disturbance of the water. If only he could be out there enjoying the night sky one last time. The night gave him a cold chill that he favored but the ocean was cold, too cold. He couldn't say that he enjoyed it.

Just as his eyes began to close and the HUD flickered off, there was a break in the water above him. Something or someone had dove into the water and was grabbing hold of his arms. Was Ugly going to make sure a bullet was put in his head properly?

It pulled and pulled and pulled, dragging him closer to the surface. Hiro couldn't see anything. He was working on auto-pilot which meant he struggled against wanting to hold on tighter to the figure that was saving him and instead wanted to push away. As Hiro tried to pull away the opposing body held on closer refusing to let him float back down to the depths.

Hiro's last thoughts before he lost consciousness was that Tadashi was going to kill him.

* * *

R&R


	3. Eminence Grise

Giant apologies for taking so long to get this out! Real adult life has been freaking stressful and then I was at San Diego Comic Con for a week and that zapped so much energy out of me that I don't even know how I'm still standing. Anyways though! Thanks to everyone to the comments/reviews/likes/kudos (for all platforms) and I promise to do my best to get chapters out much faster.

Eminence Grise by Little People

* * *

 _"This city, this world, is in trouble. I'm think I'm slowly losing someone to it."_

* * *

He may have been only fifteen, but a lot can have to a person in such a short amount of time.

People would say that he was still a kid and in truth he was. But saying that he was a kid shouldn't take away from the significance that life's trials have thrown at him. Hiro would say that, over all, even with parents who were no longer with him and a childhood that was outside of the norm, he had a good life.

He had a loving Aunt and a protective older brother, he an immense amount of access to pieces of technology that it was only a matter of time before he decided to pursue his passion with robotics, and he always had a plate of food on the table. That was more than a lot of people could say.

He didn't need a lot to be happy. He could ignore the times when he was teased for being smarter than his classmates, putting up with the shoves and bullying and overall hostile environment that commonly followed school. He learned early on to roll with the punches, literally, and to not make himself out to be a victim, but someone who could persevere. He could ignore that he didn't truly have friends of his own and formed a dependency on Tadashi to fill that part of his heart. He was content with his life and how the future was playing out. He was well taken care of and loved. Even Mochi, a cat that was incredibly particular in who received his affection, would occasionally sit on his lap and purr happily.

He had a good life.

And yet he somehow found a way to get off track of the Happy-American-Family and throw himself into a world that had become invisible to the average eyes.

It's not like he wanted to wake up with a headache building an immense amount of pressure behind his eyes and the feeling that his joints were becoming unhinged. His clothes were wet and clinging tightly against his limbs. His helmet felt like it was the only thing keeping his head from falling apart and crumbling to the floor.

He sat on the ground, leaning up again a crate of boxes, their contents unknown. Hiro did a quick analysis on himself. Flexing his hands first to make sure he could open and close them properly. They were a little stiff, but they worked. Next he brought his arms up and down, bending at the elbow before rolling his shoulders. His ankles soon followed suit and he stretched his heel out to bring the feeling of life back into his lower half. Everything seemed to check out, nothing was broken but a few parts, namely his shin and stomach, had taken their fair share of a beating. It would be wise of him to take some medication for the swelling and to ice them when he got home.

"Display up." Hiro coughed as the words left his mouth. As wet as his body felt the inside of his mouth was dry and rough. He licked his lips and tasted the ocean salt. "Uh, I said display up."

"It took a pretty heavy hit, I don't think it's going to be running any time soon."

Hiro looked up sharply, scanning the area around him as best as he could given the incredibly dim lighting. From what he could gather, he was inside one of the large metal shipping crate similar to the ones that Isla's men had brought up from the docks. He could see a few other wooden crates similar to the one that he was leaning against, and he guessed that whatever was inside these were definitely not part of Isla's shipment. She wouldn't leave something that precious open for anyone to stumble upon...unless this mystery voice was working for her.

Hiro squinted in to the darkness trying to pinpoint where the voice had come from. He saw a form sitting on what looked like a chair, hunched over resting their head on an open palm. The outline of their body was hard to make out as they were wearing all black. Boots, pants, shirt, duster coat, all black. The only feature that stood out to reveal a person sitting a few feet away from him was the white and red Kabuki mask the they wore.

"You know, this would be a lot easier if you were wearing neon pink or something a little more noticeable."

"That would clash with the atmosphere I'm trying to create. A little too flamboyant."

"Hm." Hiro sat himself up into a more comfortable position. He kept his legs ready to push off the ground at any given moment just in case this man became a threat. "Can I make the embarrassing assumption that you pulled me out of the ocean?"

Kabuki masked man nodded.

"You could have let me die."

"I could have." The man switched hands.

"So how come you're not finishing what Ugly and Wiggles tried?"

The man tilted his head. "Finish?"

"Yeah you know, _'Put a bullet in his head'_? Pretty sure Isla doesn't want me just hanging around chatting, as pleasurable as this has been I'm sure."

He was silent for a moment, as if confused at the suggestion that he kill Hiro. "I don't work for Isla."

"Then who do you work for?" Hiro inquired. Straight and to the point. There was no way this guy would throw himself into the ocean to save Hiro just on a whim. "Who do you work for? Risking your life to get my ass out of the ocean but with no motive? If you're trying to play the 'I'm not a suspicious guy in black' card, you're failing pretty hard."

The man stood, pushed his chair back, and took a few steps closer to Hiro. His heavy boots echoed with a _tap tap tap_ through the container. "Just because I don't work for someone doesn't mean I don't have a motive."

"Oh?" This was getting interesting. Hiro straightened up, bent his knees, and pushed the soles of his feet together. He leaned forward to imitate an eager child patiently listening.

"You."

"See I knew you would be so—wait _what_?" Hiro immediately frowned and subconsciously shuffled back. "Dude, no."

The other man groaned. "Get your head out of the Internet, not like that. I mean _you_ are my motivation."

"Still not helping. You're really hitting the target on this creepy vibe you're creating. I mean, the suspicious all black was the initial warning but now you're hitting a bullseye." Hiro chuckled despite feeling uncomfortable. In the face of discomfort or fear, it's always better to laugh. Helps to pretend there are no problems and convince yourself otherwise.

"Please allow me to clarify." The mask man came forward and offered a hand to Hiro. The younger boy stared at it, unsure to what bridge he was building. If this man wanted to kill him he would have done so while he was still knocked out. He wouldn't have put up with Hiro's smart remarks. He wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of dragging his ass out of the ocean.

But, damn it, he couldn't explain it. There was something about him that Hiro could trust.

It wasn't a deep true trust like the one he had with his brother, but it was a trust he could feel that the man did not mean him any harm.

A majority of the time his gut feeling had never steered him wrong and he hoped it would not lead him astray now. Hiro grasped the hand that was offered to him and was hauled onto his feet. Once he let go, the man kept his hand extended.

"My name is Aka. I know what you are trying to do, for this city and the people in it. I believe in you, and I want to help."

Now, of all the things that could have come out of his mouth, that was one of the last things that Hiro was expecting. _I want you to build me a robot_ or _I have this crazy pyramid scheme that I think you're going to love_ were higher on his list of possibilities.

"You...want to help me?" Hiro looked at the hand, still extended and waiting for someone to shake it. That hand could wait as long as it wanted.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Aka retracted his hand and shrugged with a sigh. "I could go into a long winded tale of woe and misery, revealing all things that I've seen and experienced to make me want to fight back against what San Fransokyo is turning into or you can trust that I have my reasons, just as you have yours."

"I don't know man, I don't have anywhere to be. I wouldn't mind a nice little bedtime story." Hiro grinned from behind his helmet. "So you expect me to trust you? Right here and now. Immediately." He wasn't entirely convinced that someone so helpful would be willing to fight for the same cause as he. And that also put a wrench in his plan, as his original idea didn't involve anyone other than himself. He never thought for a second that he would have another person fighting along side him.

"No, you don't have to trust me. At least not right away. If it helps move things along though, I did not take off your helmet while you were unconscious." Aka shift his weight to favor his right side and crossed his arms across his chest. The yellow of his eyes bore down into Hiro challenging him to call him a liar.

The younger boy touched the sides of his helmet, feeling for the cracks caused by ricocheting bullets. Two lines with dents, chips of helmet ripped off, were on the right side just above his ears. He rubbed over the pattern with the pad of his index finger, digging his nail into the rivets to pick at the material.

"We can start small with your trust."

"Give me one good reason I should let you help me."

Aka did not answer immediately, he stood in what Hiro could only take as thought. It was hard to tell the inner workings of the mind of someone who hide their features behind a mask. He could only guess from typical human mannerisms, and silence usually meant contemplation.

"This city, this world, is in trouble. I'm think I'm slowly losing someone to it. Not quite yet...but—"

A pause.

"Someone has to help."

If someone were to ask Hiro why, he wouldn't be able to answer. But in that moment he believed Aka said. He believed him one hundred percent that he truly wanted to help.

Getting to his feet, Hiro reached out and grabbed Aka's hand, giving a few heavy shakes. "You've got yourself a deal. Help me save this city."

* * *

It wasn't until Hiro got to the garage that he realized it was already morning. He must have been knocked out longer than he first thought. What was originally only an hour or so turned out to be the better half of several. He blamed it on not only getting his ass handed to him, as much as he hated to admit it, but also the fact that he has been getting very little sleep over the past several days. When he was forcefully thrown into unconsciousness his body must have taken it as an opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Being so, the sun was already up by the time he snuck into the garage and arranged it to look like he had been there all night working. The chances that anyone came down to check on him in the middle of the night was near zero. It was well known that Hiro would crash in the garage and curl up on the couch for the night. It was a regular occurrence that neither Tadashi nor Aunt Cass would think to check up on him. He threw a blanket across the couch and messed up the cushions to give the allusion he had spent the entire night safely passed out asleep.

Once everything in the garage looked to his satisfaction, he deposited the helmet onto his work bench and snuck upstairs to his bedroom. Just as he opened the door to the room he was _hoping_ to see Tadashi still asleep in his bed, completely oblivious to his brother's escapades of the night.

But of course luck just wasn't on his side.

"Wow up at one in the afternoon yesterday and up at six in the morning today? You're going to destroy your sleep schedule little bro." Tadashi came out of the bathroom wearing a clean set of clothing and rubbing a towel over his damp hair.

"Well you know what they say late to bed early to rise...or something like that." Hiro smiled and brushed past his older brother to collapse on his bed. "And now if you don't mind I would like to continue that sleep."

Tadashi laughed and threw his damp towel onto Hiro's exhausted body. "Couch not good enough?"

"My body is old and fragile." Hiro grabbed the towel from off his head and onto the ground beside the bed. "It requires something a little better than metal springs and pizza stained fabric."

"And something with a little less precipitation."

"Yes with less precip—what?" Hiro lifted his head to peer over his shoulder.

"You look like you just got dragged out of a lake or something." Tadashi threw him a dry towel from the bathroom rack. "Make that an ocean, you smell like left over fish."

Hiro caught the towel and sat up to start drying off his hair. Hiro patted down his clothing and frowned – he was still a little damp from his night swim, and being in a cold crate container hadn't helped him dry off. Of course Tadashi noticed! And what excuse could he use? He was supposed to have been in the garage all night.

"Er yea, I took a little walk this morning, clear by head a bit. Made it down to the market place and it started to rain." Hiro quickly lied. It wasn't the best, probably the worst lie to date, but it was he could come up with on the spot. Hopefully Tadashi would just let it pass.

"Uh huh. Well while I'm up I'm going to start making breakfast, come down when you're ready. Don't forget if you take to long—"

"You'll give it to Mochi. Got it." Hiro gave a standard thumbs up in understanding before collapsing back onto his bed. How did Tadashi have so much energy this early in the morning? Both of them usually got a minimal amount of sleep each night because of their studies or projects, but Tadashi never seemed to falter. Hiro, on the other hand, loved every moment he could spend wrapped up in bed ignoring the world. He wanted to indulge in the warmth his blankets provided but now that Tadashi pointed it out, he was overly aware of his wet clothing. Sighing he rolled out of bed, took a quick shower, and changed into a fresh set of clothing.

Even from upstairs he could smell Tadashi's cooking which _clearly_ involved bacon. Hiro gave a silent thank you and made his way downstairs, stepping gingerly over Mochi who came to greet him.

"Sorry Mochi, you are _so_ not getting my bacon." Hiro gave him a quick pet before sitting down at the dining table. "Good morning, Aunt Cass."

His Aunt had her head on the kitchen table, cheek pressed against the cold surface and coffee in her right hand. "Good morning, Hiro..."

"Rough night?"

She sighed and let out a stream of air. "Beat Poetry night took a little more out of me than I was expecting. Not only were we busy, but somehow the pickiest customers showed up! I don't know how many times I can explain to someone that there is no such thing as diet water! It's water! There is no diet version! There is water as a liquid, a solid, or a gas, there is no way to remove calories from something that _has_ no calories! I swear these teen-boppers that come in...Hiro please, _please_ , don't go through this phase." Aunt Cass switched cheeks and sighed happily at the cool contact. "Wait...it's too early why are you up? What happened."

The last part wasn't a question. Aunt Cass was just as familiar with Hiro's sleeping schedule, and if he was up before ten in the morning that meant something was going on. The younger Hamada shrugged, "Nothing happened, I just have a lot of things to work on today so thought I would try this 'getting up early' thing. So far I'm not a fan, I do not recommend it."

"I have to agree with you on that." Aunt Cass lifted her head and stretched her arms over and under. "Well time to get ready for the morning commuters. If you guys need anything you know where I'll be!" She grabbed her apron off the counter and walked down towards the front of the store, the sound of a bell echoing to the alert of a customer. The first customers of the day were always the most difficult, they tended to be very particular about their coffee orders and if their bagel was not toasted _just_ right it was usually accompanied with judgmental grunts.

Hiro turned his attention back to the table just as Tadashi set a plate of bacon and eggs before him. "Yes! Bacon is the best morning meat possible." He started digging in, munching away at perfectly crispy bacon.

"What about sausages? Or Canadian bacon?" Tadashi asked as he sat opposite of Hiro with his own plate of food. "Or turkey bacon?"

"First of all," Hiro gulped down some orange juice that his older brother had given him as well. "I'm not even going to acknowledge turkey bacon. Sausages don't have that crisp crunch or salty, greasy flavor that bacon is the master at. And what is Canadian bacon?"

Tadashi covered his mouth while he spoke. Even with just his brother he was polite enough to cover his mouth when full of food, unlike Hiro who was happily chewing away with an open mouth. "It's basically ham."

"So it's ham. Not bacon."

"Technically yes, but it does come from a pig."

"But it's ham. Just named after a country and then the word bacon is slapped on."

"I suppose you could think of it that way." Tadashi shrugged his shoulders.

"That's false advertisement and I don't support slander, so no to Canadian bacon." Hiro shoved more of his sacred bacon into his mouth, making a show to chew loudly. Tadashi chuckled and shook his head while continuing his own breakfast.

The younger Hamada ignored his brother's obvious jab at him and gulped down his orange juice, using the hem of his sleeve to wipe the excess liquid from his lips. Today was going to be another long day. Pretending that he did get a normal amount of sleep, he had a lot to plan out. Namely, he had to figure out his next plan of action again Isla, while also determining the best use of Aka.

Before that, though, he needed to evaluate every possible facet of his new cohort to prevent any retaliation or betrayal. There was something about Aka that he was immediately drawn to, and while he didn't have his complete trust, he believed the man to be genuine. At least as genuine as strangers could be.

He didn't have to have the other man help fight his battles, he could do it on his own just fine. Hiro's previous plans were created with the intention of him and his bots being the only factors, but now Aka was a key component. The other man was clearly capable of taking care of himself, as well as others, seeing as how he was able to save Hiro from meeting an early end. But just because his life was saved by Aka, didn't mean he had to trust him. And Aka knew that, even going as far as to remind Hiro that he did not need to trust in him, he just needed to believe his intentions.

Aka wanted to save the city, and Hiro was going use him to his fullest potential.

* * *

R&R

Next chapter song is "Of The Night" by Bastille is you want to get in the mood for what's to come.


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